LETTER | Politicians, please focus on nation building

LETTER | The rumour mills are grinding all over again, spurning out increasing suspicions of yet another political coup in the hatchery.

Anwar Ibrahim has brushed it aside like any good prime minister is supposed to, but concerned quarters remain wary for it is a proven trend in Malaysia where rumours often turn out to be true.

How can we allow our politicians to continue to grind their axes despite the constitutional monarch having sanctioned the incoming of Anwar’s government? 

The nation is under great duress as it already faces multiple challenges on all four frontiers - politics, economics, social, and environment.

While the government is fighting hard to tackle the pressing challenges, the heat on Anwar keeps increasing by the day. 

Environmentally, we are facing a heat wave that will eventually lead to crippling health conditions, crop failures, and acute water shortages. 

We have flash thunderstorms that can wreak havoc on lives, livelihoods, and properties. 

On the economic front, the battle among superpowers will have devastating impacts on our nation which depends heavily on imports and exports.

For a third-world nation that lived on an empty and eventually failed promise of Wawasan 2020, we are far from being a self-reliant, self-sufficient country. Our pinned hopes on foreign direct investments can tumble like a stack of cards in any geopolitical crash or mega-scale confrontation. 

Meanwhile, the decades of preferential politicking in the country have bred and instituted a culture of corrupt systems. 

Today, any attempts to reset fundamentals like human rights, an impartial justice system, elimination of racism, curtailing religious exploitation and bigotry, or dismantling the systemic corruption in the country continues to hit dead ends. 

For example, the institution of the minimum wage policy unleashes resistance from the business communities. The proposal to increase employers’ monthly contribution to the Employees Provident Fund is already facing a mountain of unspoken threats.

Even clear-cut criminal cases are pushing the button for pardons, thereby even nudging the constitutional monarchy into a corner.

All these and many more other undercurrents that are being traded at kopitiams and on social media do not augur well for a nation that is still not out of the woods. 

As the world faces grim futures, we should be having some saving grace with the gifts of the Malaysia Madani.

But the national, collective focus by citizens, civil servants, institutions of governance, religious organisations, civil societies, and professional bodies is being marred and blurred by the rumours of a political coup. 

The political brokering by the opposition bloc is unfolding at speed these days. Enticing failed or sacked politicians is also not helping a national reset with a focus on the Madani core principles of SCRIPT - sustainability, care & compassion, respect, innovation, prosperity, and trust. 

When the compass of nation-building - Malaysia Madani - is being ignored, discarded or dismissed even without trying hard, our future as a progressive, let alone sustainable, nation is pawned for good.

When the government is riddled with self-interest, desperate cheats, and warlords who come with unfathomable treasure troves, the common citizen remains helpless and disillusioned.

When the power of patriotism is trodden over, a nation can only sink into bitter civil wars and uncurable tribal enmities.

We need to marshal every single right-minded fibre amongst citizens to wage war against all those who are not committed to resetting and rebuilding our nation.

Enough is enough.

We cannot ignore the rumours, the speculations, and the brokering behind veiled curtains. 

Democracy loses its meaning when crooks are given the leeway to topple a legitimate, democratically elected government that is sanctioned by the constitutional monarchy. 

Either we save our nation or pretend that nothing is amiss, while the country regresses into the old ways of our past decades of failed politics.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.